Freezing
by xotakux2002x
Summary: wherein deidara stays out in the rain, and sasori feels guilty. sasodei fluff
1. part 1

Sasori woke up in the middle of the night. He had no idea what woke him up; probably some bad dream, or the rain. It was pouring down out there in sheets, just as it had when he went to bed at 8. He reached an arm out to turn the digital clock around to face him: 2 a.m. He quickly pulled his arm back under the warm covers, determined to go to sleep. He stared at the wall for about ten minutes before flipping over so he now faced the window.

He saw a silhouette sitting outside the window.

Sasori didn't move; this person must be an assassin. But obviously not a very good one, or else he would have already noticed the puppet man's movements. Maybe it was his first big job. Sasori debated how to kill the person. It would be easiest to throw one of his poison knives at the man; but where was the fun in that? No, he'd grab a regular kunai and slit the bastard's throat, getting right in his face and seeing the guy realize with horror what was happening as he was murdered.

Carefully moving and barely making a sound, Sasori reached into his bag and pulled out a knife. Then, without hesitating, he jumped out of bed, dashed to the window, threw it open…and looked down into the blue eyes of a soaking wet blonde.

"Deidara?!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_Earlier that day…_

"Brat, are you even listening?"

"Yeah, un." Sasori and Deidara had arrived in the town around lunch time. They had just finished checking their bags in at the hotel and were preparing to split up and do some shopping before returning to their room.

"Then repeat what I just said."

Deidara sighed in annoyance. "Get what you need, stay out of my sight, and meet back at the hotel lobby at seven thirty, un." He glanced over Sasori's shoulder to look at the list in his partner's hand. "Danna, what are you getting, un?"

"If you must know, I'm trying to find some very special tools for making puppets." His mind flashed back as he remembered walking into his and Deidara's room to find Tobi on the floor, with several of his special blades bent or broken on the floor. "I also need some herbs for my poisons, and maybe some wood. Now beat it."

"Right danna, un!" Deidara dashed off.

"And don't you dare think of coming in late!" Sasori called after him. Deidara waved his hand over his shoulder, then rounded a corner and was gone.

Well, Sasori had done his shopping and was at the hotel at 7:30 sharp, but Deidara was nowhere to be seen. Ordinarily, he would have stuck around to scold the brat, but he was in a particularly bad mood, after not being able to find replacement tools and hearing the clerk say the water heater was broken. So, he simply grabbed his key and headed upstairs, where he undressed and went to bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_Back to the present… _

"How blonde can you be to stay out in the rain when it's pouring like this?!"

"I wasn't out that long, un. Maybe half an hour?" the blonde said through the bathroom door. Sasori had dragged him inside and pushed him into the bathroom. As Deidara dried off and changed out of his clothes, Sasori sat on the other of the bathroom door, his back against it. "I'm gonna take a hot shower, un."

"The water heater's busted. You'd know that if you hadn't been late, brat."

Deidara swore, then stayed silent for a minute. "Danna…"

"Yes?"

"Give me your clothes, un."

Sasori turned around and stood up. "What?"

"I said give me your clothes, danna."

"Give me one good reason."

"My bag is still downstairs, un. And my clothes up here are soaking wet."

Damn. The kid had a point. But Sasori wasn't about to surrender so easily. "And whose fault is that?! If you hadn't been late and sitting out in the rain like a moron, this wouldn't have happened! I ought to just leave you to freeze to death."

Deidara snapped. "Fine, un! I'll just go out of here with no clothes on! God, danna, I didn't know you were such a pervert, but if that's-" The door opened six inches and Sasori's wadded up cloak came flying in. Sasori then shut the door, marched across the room, opened the main door, and walked down the hall.

He stormed into the lobby, requesting Deidara's bag. He quickly grabbed it, then turned to walk upstairs, when he bumped into the janitor. "Sorry, sir," he said. Sasori just grunted. As he rounded the corner, he heard the janitor talk to the clerk. ""Hey, I just took out the garbage. That blonde's finally gone."

Sasori stopped. Blonde?

"That's a relief," the clerk replied. "I thought the poor dear would be out there all night."

"What happened, anyway?" the janitor wasn't the only one who wanted that question answered…

Meanwhile, Deidara had managed to dry his hair most of the way, and came out of the bathroom with his danna's cloak around him. Even with the Akatsuki garb, his body felt like ice. He climbed onto a bed, not knowing which one was his or Sasori's._ "I really made him mad this time,"_ he thought sadly. _"I always make danna mad. I really tried to get here on time, but I couldn't. He probably won't talk to me for a week, un."_ He fell onto his side, curling up into a ball. He pressed the fabric of the cloak against his nose. _"It smells…just like…danna…" _

"Well, these guys, a blonde and a red head came in here earlier today and checked their stuff in. Then, the red head came back at 7:30, and went straight to his room. Then, about ten minutes later, the blonde comes in. She walks right up to me and asks, 'Did my partner come back yet?' I told her yes. She gave me the saddest smile I'd ever seen. 'Thought so…" she said, looking down like I'd scolded her or something. I asked her if she wanted a room key, but she said she'd be fine. She didn't want to make her partner mad by coming in late, or something. All she did was stuff a sack in her bag, then walk out. I came out a few minutes later. I don't know how she figured it out, but she was sitting right outside her partner's window. I wasn't too worried, but it started to rain at eight, and when you took came in at 12 and told me a blonde person was sitting outside on a window ledge, I knew it was her. The poor thing must have finally gotten in; why else would her partner have come down to get her bag?"

"I can't believe it."

"I know, who could sit in the rain that-"

"Not that! I mean, you seriously thought he's a girl?! That person was a guy!"

"No way! She had to be a she! There's no way in hell a guy could look like that!"

"But didn't he sound like a guy when you talked to him?!"

As the two continued to argue, Sasori slowly began to walk back to the room. Was it true? Had Deidara really sat out in the rain for 6 hours because he was 10 minutes late? That meant the kid had lied, probably to avoid Sasori getting madder at him.

Why was the brat late anyway? Maybe it had something to do with that package Deidara had supposedly stuffed into his bag. Sasori quickly set the bag down and opened it up. A small cloth sack was sitting on top of everything else. He pulled it out and unwrapped it. A knot formed in his stomach.

There were knives in the bag. The same kind that Tobi had broken, the same kind that he'd been looking for earlier. Deidara had been late because he'd been shopping for Sasori, and punished himself for it by sitting in the rain for 6 hours. After sticking the knives inside his bag so they wouldn't get wet.

Sasori sighed. He was going to have to give that blonde a huge apology. He wrapped the knives back up, then walked the rest of the way to the room. What should he say? He quietly opened the door. "Deidara…"

The person in question was asleep on his bed. His body was curled up in a ball, and Sasori's cloak was pulled tightly around him. Sasori walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. He noticed the blonde hair was still damp._ "He'll catch a cold,"_ he thought to himself. As if it had a will of its own, his hand reached out and touched the blonde's cheek. _"He's freezing."_

Deidara's eyes opened at the touch. "Danna?" he mumbled sleepily. Sasori stared at his partner.

Deidara looked at him with half-lidded eyes. "Am I in you bed, un?" Sasori nodded. Deidara shut his eyes completely before opening them again. "Thought so, un…" he sat up to move over to his own bed. Sasori pushed him down. Deidara opened his eyes completely. "Danna?"

"You're freezing cold," Sasori stated, pulling the covers over both of them. Once they were tucked in, he pulled Deidara close to him.

Deidara fidgeted. "Danna, what are-"

"I'm warming you up with my body heat."

Deidara tried to push away. "Danna, I fine, un. I was only out there a little while."

"Since when is 6 hours a 'little while'?"

Deidara stopped moving. So, Sasori knew…"Sorry, danna, un."

"Don't do it again."

Deidara sighed and shut his eyes. Of course Sasori would be mad at him for this. "Don't worry, I won't be late again, un."

"That's not what I meant."

Deidara opened his eyes. Sasori was staring right at him. "I mean…even if you're late, just come in. I don't want you to freeze to death. Please don't do this again." Sasori looked at Deidara with a mixture of concern and…love?

Deidara smiled, and then snuggled closer. "You're so warm, danna."

Sasori smiled back, his body completely enveloping Deidara. "I'm not as good as a hot shower, though."

"No," whispered Deidara as he drifted off. "You're better."


	2. part 2

Sasori woke at the sound of a sneeze. He slowly opened his eyes, not quite ready to wake up. Deidara looked up at him, a sheepish grin on his face. "Sorry, danna. I didn't mean to wake you, un."

Sasori sighed and stretched, forcing the blonde to slide off of him. "No big deal, Deidara. We needed to head back early anyway, so it's better that you woke me up early, instead of vice-versa." Deidara was the epitome of an anti-morning person. He'd even gone as far as to throw bombs at people who dared to wake him too early. This had never happened to Sasori, but in the puppet's mind, it was only a matter of time.

Deidara sneezed again, and Sasori gave him a concerned glance. His partner had been out in the rain for six hours the night before, and had gone to bed with a wet head. "Dei, are you ok?" he asked, reaching out to feel his partner's forehead.

"Of course, un!" Deidara sprang out of the bed to prove it, which also moved him away from Sasori before he could touch the sculptor. "I'm starved! Let's get something to eat, un!" He quickly ran around the room, pulling on some clothes and gathering all his things at lightning speed. "C'mon, danna! Let's go, un!" Grabbing his bag, Deidara dashed out the door. Sasori was suspicious, but decided to let it go. Gathering his few belongings and checking the room for any forgotten items, he soon walked out the door.

After a quick breakfast, the artists headed out of town, Sasori leading, mainly because Deidara had a nasty habit of getting them lost every time he took the lead. The weather was fairly nice, considering all the rain from the night before. Sasori was eager to get back to the base soon, because he was fairly certain it was going to rain again tonight. He heard Deidara sneeze a few more times, making him uneasy. They stopped in the woods midday, eating the sandwiches Deidara had packed for them before they had left. Sasori noticed that Deidara barely ate half of it before tucking it away. The blonde walked over to a tree and stretched out. "I'm gonna rest for a while, ok, un?" Sasori nodded and Deidara shut his eyes. The red head decided to work on Hiruko for a while. Some of the joints had been acting funny…

A few hours later, Sasori was satisfied with his puppet. He'd need to work on it more once they got back home, but for now it would do. He turned and looked at Deidara, surprised that his partner was still sleeping. "Deidara, wake up." No answer. Sasori frowned, walking over to Deidara. As he got closer, he noticed that Deidara's face was slightly flushed, and he was sweating. "Deidara, we need to go." He gently shook his partner.

Deidara opened his eyes slightly. "Are we going now, danna?" His voice was weak.

Sasori was worried now. "Deidara, are you sure you're ok?" He tried once again to feel the blonde's forehead.

Deidara smacked the arm away. "I'm fine, danna! Cut it out, un!"

He quickly rose to his feet, swaying as he stood. He grabbed a tree for support, while Sasori stared. "Ok, now I know you're lying, brat."

Deidara shot him a glare. "Can we just go already, un?!" He started to walk angrily away. Suddenly, he stopped and turned around. "Come on, danna! We have to…" he stopped mid-sentence and grabbed his head.

Sasori's body realized what was going to happen before his mind did. He rushed forward as Deidara's legs gave out, catching the sculptor as he fell. He quickly brought his hand to Deidara's forehead. His eyes widened.

Deidara was burning up.

Worse yet, his breathing was labored, and he was shivering. Sasori picked him up and rushed to Hiruko, quickly pulling them both inside. It was a tight fit, but he was able to get them both in. He hurriedly attached his chakra strings to Hiruko, forcing the puppet to move rapidly in the direction of the base. He shot a glance at his unconscious partner. "_Please, Dei, be all right…"_

Upon their arrival, Sasori immediately pulled Deidara out of the puppet and set him on the bead. Sweat was streaking down his face, and his breathing wasn't much better. Sasori had been around medicine long enough to know what to do. He reached into his desk and pulled out an old bag containing all of his medical supplies. He grabbed a thermometer and opened Deidara's mouth gently. After whispering several times in Deidara's ear not to bite down, he slipped it in. He opened one of Deidara's eyes and examined it, before checking his heart rate and breathing. Finally, he pulled out the thermometer. 102.6 degrees. He shook his head. All signs pointed to flu, which was quickly turning into pneumonia. The flu was a virus, so all he could do was force Deidara to drink fluids. The blonde's immune system would have to do the rest. The red head sighed again and rose to his feet, deciding to get his partner a glass of water.

The next week was hell. Deidara twisted and turned in his sleep, sweating and coughing. Whenever he got to a state of half-consciousness, Sasori forced him to drink tea, or water. Deidara would drink it, then fall back asleep. He never even got up to use the bathroom; any fluids that he took in were sweated out.

Sasori was getting more and more worried. Deidara's fever showed no signs of breaking, and the last temperature check read a fever of 104.2. People ended up in the hospital with that kind of fever. He had barely left Deidara's side for a moment, scared of….he didn't want to say anything like that, but he remembered seeing people die from pneumonia like this in his village.

Sasori stood up, quickly exiting the room. Maybe he should try chicken broth; he knew how to make it, and it might help Deidara. Sasori walked into the kitchen, pulling the necessary ingredients out of the fridge and put a pot of water on the stove. As he stirred in the ingredients, his thoughts went back to Deidara. His blonde wasn't supposed to be like this, dammit! He was supposed to be happy, healthy, not lying at death's door! Sasori put his head in his hands. No, that wasn't the issue here. _"I'm avoiding the truth, aren't I?"_ He shook his head. He didn't want to say it, even though it was true. But he had to let it out.

This was entirely his fault.

Because of him, Deidara was out in the rain for hours. Then, he didn't notice how ill Deidara really was until he collapsed. It would be his fault entirely if Deidara- no, don't go there, don't even go there. The lid of the pot started bouncing, and Sasori knew the soup was done. Quickly scooping out a bowl, he went back to the room.

Deidara was awake when he came in, staring at the door. "Danna," he whispered.

Sasori was by his side in an instant. "Drink this," he said, pulling Deidara into a sitting position and handing him the soup.

Deidara slowly drank it, then leaned against Sasori. "I feel awful, danna." He looked up into Sasori's eyes. "Sasori-danna, will you hold me again, un?" He clutched weakly at Sasori's arm.

Sasori gave him a gentle smile. "Sure, Dei." He moved the empty soup bowl to the bedside table and slid under the covers, pulling Deidara close. Deidara sighed contently before shutting his eyes and drifting back to sleep. One of Sasori's hands snaked its way up into Deidara's hair, while the other slid up to his forehead. Still burning up. Sasori ran his fingers through the slightly knotted blonde locks, before giving Deidara a kiss on the forehead. _"Please Dei, hurry up and get well."_ He buried his face in the crook of Deidara's neck, exhausted for some unknown reason.

"Mmmm…" Deidara slowly opened his eyes. It was pitch black. _"What time is it?"_ He tried to sit up, but something was holding him down. _"Hmm?!"_ He slowly moved his hands over the object and came to the conclusion that it was Sasori. "Sasori-danna, wake up."

Sasori's eyes snapped open and he quickly sat up. Deidara followed suit, stretching as he sat up. "Deidara, how do you feel?"

"Better than I have in a while, un!"

Sasori quickly pulled out the thermometer and checked his partner's temperature. 99.8 degrees. He smiled in relief. "Your fever's dropped. You should be back to nor- Deidara, what do you think you're doing?!" While Sasori had been talking, the sculptor had swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"I'm gonna take a bath, un!" Deidara tried to stand, but swayed and flopped back down.

"Dei, you've just been in bed for a week with a high fever! You shouldn't be moving around like that as soon as you feel slightly better."

Deidara began to pout. "But I feel so gross, danna!" Sasori sighed. He got up, walked over to Deidara, and picked the blonde up. "Hey, un!"

"Calm down, Dei-chan. If you really want to take a bath that badly, I'll help."

Deidara frowned slightly. "Fine, un. Just don't try anything funny, danna."

Sasori smirked. "Such as?"

"Sasori-danna!"

The artist in question chuckled. "All right, all right. Just calm down before you make yourself sick again."

Deidara actually found the bath quite enjoyable, since he got to sit on Sasori's lap the whole time. Once they finished, they pulled on some pjs and slipped back into the bed. Sasori was quiet the whole time. "Danna, what's wrong, un?"

Sasori sighed. He may as well let it out. "Deidara, can you make me a promise?"

"_Hmm? _What kind of promise, danna?"

"Promise you won't hate me for making you sick, for calling you a brat, for….everything." Sasori regretted asking the question now.

Deidara raised a brow, then pulled Sasori to his chest. "That's an easy promise to make, un." One of his hands came to rest in Sasori's hair. "I love you, danna. I don't care what you say or do to me, 'cause I'll always love you, un. That's a promise, Sasori-danna."

Sasori slowly raised his arms, then quickly embraced Deidara tightly. "Thank you Deidara. I was scared…"

Deidara blinked. "Scared that I'd hate you, un?"

"No. Scared that you wouldn't return my feelings."

Deidara gaped, then hugged Sasori tighter. "That means you love me too, right un?!"

"Yes, you blonde idiot, I love you."

Deidara laughed, prompting Sasori to smile. Sasori gave Deidara a quick kiss and pulled the blankets up to his chin. "Now go to sleep. You're still recovering."

"Only if you hold me, un."

"I can do that."

The two artists drifted off into a peaceful slumber, intertwined with each other.


End file.
